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Post by beachshrink on Jan 21, 2019 19:25:20 GMT -5
Hi,
My new farm plus has 4 cells that don't seem to get much water. The sponges are only wet about 1/2" up. They're all on the right side, but kind of scattered about, so I don't think it's that it's not level. Any ideas?
BS
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2019 19:46:12 GMT -5
I don't own a farm, but in the past, if it was over a period of 24 hrs after planting and the tops were dry I would gently drizzle some water over the sponge tops to saturate the sponges and that would give the wicking more of a 'momentum' If it was a longer time and the planting was not recent, you would need to reposition the plants so it catches the water flowing through the wells a bit better..
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Post by beachshrink on Jan 21, 2019 20:00:44 GMT -5
Thanks! I'll try that!
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Post by fizzle1979 on Jan 21, 2019 20:34:11 GMT -5
I am glad I found this thread. I just planted my Farm Plus yesterday and checked the sponges and some of mine are dry. I just added water from the top and that seems to have wet the entire sponge.
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Shawn
Administrator
Posts: 16,268
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Post by Shawn on Jan 22, 2019 5:53:39 GMT -5
I would also grab a level to see if it is level as well. I had a Bounty that did that and my unit was off the tiniest bit. Once level it did work.
Also I know on the pumps for the Bounty and other units there is a small dial that you can turn. If the Farm has a pump like this, and you have taken Corinne's advice and tried to level, you may want to increase the pressure for the pump. This may be it as well.
From what I have seen on my units (Farm Owners please chime in) the water does not flow fast out of those tiny holes. It flows but more like a slow soft stream.
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MaryL
AGA Farmer
Posts: 3,532
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Post by MaryL on Jan 23, 2019 13:08:21 GMT -5
I had this problem with one of my Harvests. I had stuck the deck in the dishwasher between gardens and it warped a little bit, enough to upset the balance and flow of water. I know the dishwasher is not the cause of your problem, but I mention this just as an example of how little it can take to alter the water flow.
That said, your plants will be fine - there was a time when the company stopped making units with channels in the decks and pumps, relying only on wicking from the bottom of the sponge and utilizing only an air bubbler to aerate the water. The plants grew just fine. I suspect they went back to pumps and channels not because the plants didn’t do well but because the built in bubbler got too weak over time to oxygenate the water sufficiently, requiring an entire bowl replacement (as opposed to just a pump replacement).
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Post by fizzle1979 on Jan 23, 2019 21:07:26 GMT -5
I didn't check with a level but mine seems to be doing fine at this point. For the next pods I try I will just soak them first then put them in the holes.
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Post by greenfly on Feb 9, 2019 19:11:44 GMT -5
Thanks Shawn for tip on checking the level, just checked on my farm unit one was a good bit off couple of pieces of packing carboard at back of unit did the trick. (yes did check front/back and side to side)
Also after 24hrs some pods still dry so put small amount of water in from top. I think I would do this with every fresh pod unless you think it may dislodge the seed? which would speed up the initial slow soaking.
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